Scarlett Johansson: 'My daughter has made me less defensive'

Scarlett Johansson has learnt to be more accepting of herself as an actress since becoming a mother.

The 31-year-old actress' life changed when she and her French husband Romain Dauriac welcomed daughter Rose into the world in 2014. And having a child, combined with reaching the landmark age of 30, inspired Scarlett to adopt a new outlook on life.

"I think turning 30, having a child and coming into my own kind of creative space has been really transformative in a lot of ways,” she told U.S. outlet FOX411 ahead of Variety‘s Power of Women Luncheon at the weekend (14-16Oct)

“I think I’m probably learning more to accept that it’s okay to want things and to verbalise that and not have to be defensive all the time. Learning to be more accepting of myself and less harsh."

Scarlett has made a name for herself as one of Hollywood's hottest actresses since she made her first movie appearance in 1994's North. She has starred in movies such as Lost in Translation and The Avengers, but added in the interview that her entire career has been built on taking risks.

“I think would say take risks and don’t be afraid to fail because the upside of that is just so rewarding,” Scarlett shared when asked for her top piece of career advice. “I think a lot of times, there is so much pressure on women to be a specific way, to be a specific kind of partner, to be a specific kind of mom, to be a specific kind of person in the workplace. I think there is a lot of pressure to kind of uphold yourself to these impossible standards.”

Now Scarlett is hoping to find similar success as a director, noting her experience in front of the camera is sure to make her a dab hand behind it.

“I think, for me, it’s a natural progression," she said of helming a project. "I have been working as an actor for over 20 years, and I think I find at this stage in my career am probably one of the more experienced people in any given production that I am working on.

"I don't mean to toot my own horn, but it just comes with working for such a long time. So I think it’s more out of efficiency than anything else or the desire for that."